I am one of the minority that loved the Detroit iteration of the League I thought by taking these unknown characters with not so groundbreaking powers is what a team book is all about, teamwork makes them stronger than their individual selves could be. Plus the change was at the time fresh and new and exciting and they were young and Gypsy quickly became one of my absolute favorite characters. So when I saw this on the shelf I had to have it.

I’ll tell you what I noticed about this issue that I haven’t seen in other books i’ve read and that is this one doesn’t waste the reader’s time. Fabian decided to just get into it they’ve been depowered for a year the dome is down they have their powers back so let’s get to business. None of that whiny stuff happening and by using Sue to narrate what’s happening and describe her husband and his teammates well it brought back the love I had for this time in comics history.

Don’t care why the team isn’t in Detroit but in Gotham doesn’t matter to me. Sue working with Commissioner Gordon is utterly fantastic! Seeing the characters actions upon regaining their powers is done smartly and with the expedience of the upcoming threat in mind, that they will have to battle to survive. So Ralph takes the kids, sans Gypsy, to a gym to train, Sue’s narration tells us what each character did while depowered so there really is no need for backtracking, while the rest try to scope out the city and assess where the threat may come from.

It doesn’t take long for the opposing team to make itself known and they started by bringing the building Ralph, Vibe, Vixen and Steel were training in down on their heads. The Tangent Universes Secret Six have come to town to win, but not at the cost of innocent lives. The end of the issue is what you dream of the Secret Six thought they’d taken the League out but the rise agian is stellar fashion and once the big three, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Zatanna join them we’ll see one heck of a battle. This is the kind of stuff that this League was great for beating the odds and proving there was more to them than met the eye.

Aside from a writer like Fabian’s contributions, which are immense here, Crisscross does some incredibly good work on the interiors. It takes more than getting the costumes right to really give them their Vibe back, see what I did there, and the atmosphere, mood, look and feel of the characters really brings you back to better times. I never thought this team got the credit they deserved and here Fabian and Crisscross showcase that they indeed are team to be reckoned with.

Forget Convergence for a moment because honestly I don’t understand it, the whole super-hero fight club thing going on in a Pre-Crisis time period, if you will. This is what longtime readers want to see the old long forgotten past being brought back to prominence and significance again. Instead of this swept under the carpet it’s here once again and done in a really respectful and delightful way.